Charles Hayward & Mick Grierson at Collision Festival 08

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Collision Festival 11 12 13 September 2008

Seminars

As part of this year's program, Collision invites the public to two free seminars conducted by drummer and composer Charles Hayward and experimental cognition software specialist Dr Mick Grierson.

12th Sept 5.00pm, Charles Hayward
Nervous system, perception & subjective realities
An intriguing insight into the philosophy behind his most recent solo work, Charles will explain his use of controlled chance/coincidence and pre-recorded electronics against hard drum time and vocals, songs inside blocks of zig-zag + swirl, never the same time twice and yet obsessively shaped and rehearsed.

From this will unfold a discussion about how our nervous systems need to make connections and shapes, that too precise and measured a work takes away the audience's autonomy; rather that it is the artist's responsibility to leave space for the individual perceptions of each listener to have room to manoeuvre.

The deep cultural functions of tragedy (to proclaim each of our unique destinies intrinsic in our individual experience) and comedy (to celebrate our connectedness to each other and the world) and the possibility of communicating both of these realities at the same time through song, in which language is made ambiguous by its relationship with melody, rhythm and sound.
A possible music in which the audience move together in time and yet each experience their own subjective interpretation and meaning from their unique standpoint.

12th Sept 6.30pm, Dr Mick Grierson
Plundermatics: The Art of Semi-Automated Audiovisual Appropriation
Dr Mick Grierson is an experimental practitioner specialising in real-time interactive audiovisual research, with specific focus on cognition and perception.

Audio and Video is ubiquitous. Using digital technology, everyone has
the opportunity to create a representation of their world - whether as
a personal document, a communication, or even an aesthetic object.

There are now so many Films and Videos, no-one could possibly watch
them all. There are so many film stars, that remembering them becomes
a pointless activity. Distribution networks are rampant and open. All
channels seem equal, in that they all seem equally as meaningless.
This isn't going to get any better. It will only get worse.

'Plundermatics' is a solution. By using computer vision and machine
listening, we don't have to worry about watching all this stuff.
Computers can watch it for us, and show us the bits we like - and
occasionally the bits we don't. We can use Plundermatics to mine huge
collections of sounds and images to create 'compilations', or
'mash-ups', in real-time, using sounds and images that we've never
even seen.

Dr Mick Grierson will discuss and give a demonstration of Plundermatics using footage taken from a variety of
films and videos.

Area 10 Project Space
Eagle Wharf
Peckham Hill Street
London
SE15 5JT

Workshops are free but numbers are limited. To reserve a place visit http://www.collision.org.uk